OUR WORK RELIEF AID TO REFUGEES Cash Assistance Food Aid and Winterization Livelihood Support

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1 2015 ANNUAL REPORT

2 CONTENTS 3 5 NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR OUR WORK RELIEF AID TO REFUGEES Cash Assistance Food Aid and Winterization Livelihood Support PROTECTION OF REFUGEES Community Centers: Support to Life Houses Psychosocial Support for Yazidi Refugees Case Management for Syrian and Iraqi Refugees CHILD PROTECTION Child Labor in Seasonal Agriculture Protection of Refugee Children CIVIL SOCIETY DISASTER PLATFORM 29 OUR FINANCES If You Like It, Share It Support Us 2

3 NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR 2015 was a difficult year, both in terms of the scale of needs in the region and our ability to scale up as Support to Life to work with displaced populations in need of relief and protection. Despite the challenges, we reached out to the highest number of affected people in our operational history, with almost 60,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees benefitting from the humanitarian support provided by Support to Life. Refugee children, particularly those engaged in waged labor, has been our focus throughout the year. It has also been a hopeful year as the preparatory consultations on the road to the World Humanitarian Summit has reinforced the importance of localization, in the realization that more resources need to be channeled to local actors for augmenting the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian action. Reflecting these developments, Support to Life continued to steer the Civil Society Disaster Platform in bringing Turkish NGOs closer together and giving them a stronger voice than ever before. Growing strong with 24 member organizations, the Platform hosted the National Consultation event leading to the World Humanitarian Summit, in which Turkish NGOs came together to discuss and push forward their recommendations for shaping the future of humanitarian action. While Support to Life has been able to achieve results through strengthened institutional funds, this year has proven to be an important one in terms of individual pledges. Donations raised at the Charity Run in Istanbul in November this year enabled hundreds of refugees to stay warm during the winter months. We thank contributors, both from Turkey and overseas, for their trust and support of our work. Support to Life Director Sema Genel Karaosmanoğlu 3

4 8 and 10 year-old sisters fled to Turkey with their family 3.5 years ago. 4

5 OUR WORK Relief Aid to Refugees: In order to provide assistance to increased number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Support to Life extended its in-kind relief and cash transfer program. Monthly cash assistance and one-time material support was provided to Syrian refugee households for them to cover their food and non-food needs in several locations along the Turkey-Syria border. Protection of Refugees: In 2015, Support to Life continued its activities to secure protection to Syrian and Iraqi refugees. These included psychosocial support and referrals to public services. During the year, Support to Life launched a new Community Center in Istanbul, as the number of refugees moving to urban areas, especially the big cities, continued to increase throughout the year. Child Protection: Support to Life expanded its program on child labor to protect vulnerable refugee children from their exposure to exploitative employment in Turkey. Through summer camp activities in the Black Sea region and a successful awareness campaign, Support to Life contributed to efforts to eliminate child labor in the seasonal agriculture. This year, activities targeting child labor among refugee children were also implemented in Şanlıurfa, Southeastern Turkey. Civil Society Disaster Platform: With its increasing membership, the Civil Society Disaster Platform continued to reinforce information sharing, capacity building and coordination among civil society actors and public authorities on disaster preparedness and response in Turkey. A series of successful events took place throughout the year, bringing together relevant actors. 5

6 RELIEF AID TO REFUGEES Cash Assistance Almost one in two Syrian refugees in the region is now hosted by Turkey, with the vast majority in urban areas. Living conditions remain a matter of concern, as refugees struggle to meet their basic needs and to access essential services. During 2015, Support to Life continued its cash assistance program for Syrian refugees in Turkey for the purchase of food, hygiene and other nonfood items. Assessed against criteria including vulnerability and poverty, cash assistance enables vulnerable Syrian households to purchase essential items with electronic cards. The amount loaded on the electronic cards for each refugee household depends on the size of the family. The program helps to empower refugees by enabling them to decide and buy what they need, whilst also supporting the local economy. Cash Assistance Monthly Basis 54,080 refugees in Hatay, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır and Batman 6

7 Food aid and Winterization Support to Life provided in-kind food assistance and winter support for vulnerable refugee families having a hard time in accessing markets to purchase the needed items. In-kind assistance was preferred in rural areas where access to markets using electronic cards was difficult. Winter support, consisted of warm clothing items for all family members including mattresses, heaters, and blankets were provided to refugee families in addition to the food baskets. Food Assistance One-Time 27,800 refugees Winter Support One-Time 18,740 refugees 7

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9 2.5 million of the refugees who fled to Turkey are trying to start a new life here. This father driving his motorcycle with the mattress loaded in the back is one on them. These beds, provided by Support to Life, will help him and his family to call the place they stay for shelter a home. The importance of a single bed to the refugees, who had to leave everything behind, can be seen through this father s smile. 9

10 Livelihood Support Support to Life launched a new pilot micro-gardening project in Hatay which allows Syrian refugee families to cultivate their own kitchen gardens and farm poultry on a small scale. Based on certain criteria, 10 refugee families were selected for the pilot project. Throughout the pilot, participants were provided with training on the use of tools and gardening methods. They were able to cultivate vegetables and learn how to sustain their garden through various maintenance and monitoring tasks. Micro-gardening: 10 refugee families in Hatay Families participating in the micro-farming project were identified based on specific criteria, which included their willingness to participate actively. The selected gardens needed to have suitable soil for kitchen gardening and space for poultry farming. Permission was obtained from the landlords to use their garden for the project. The micro-farming project in Hatay continues to successfully support refugee families to become selfsufficient and resilient. The success of this project will lead to more kitchen gardens and livelihood support activities for Syrian refugees in 2016 and beyond. 10

11 Gardening will be a good occupation for me and contribute to our dinner table Mamoon A. and his family came to Turkey one and half years ago from Hama with their two sons who are both married. An electric cable fell on his eldest son while he was working, and he passed away. We came to Turkey in order to escape from bombings and death, but death followed us here. His younger son continues working as a daily worker in constructions. We asked Mamoon who never worked on gardens before why he wanted to participate in micro-gardening project. My son died three months ago and I am still mourning. This will keep me alive, and make me forget my troubles. I am too old to work in constructions and I sometimes feel that I am useless for my family. On the first day of planting seeds Mamoon seemed very excited about the seeds as he made the final preparations on his garden. Fresh vegetables will be very good for my family. As my garden grows, my family will be stronger against troubles and worries. 11

12 PROTECTION OF REFUGEES Support to Life Houses - Community Centers Support to Life Houses represent the core of the protection program provided for refugee children, youth and adults. Based on needs and resources, these centers offers activities and workshops aimed at improving the psychosocial well-being and resilience of refugees and affected communities. Information and awareness-raising sessions were provided to improve access of refugees to basic rights and services, including health, education, protection, material assistance, and legal services. Support to Life Houses provided a safe space where individuals were encouraged to talk about their experiences and to develop their skills. Psycho-education sessions benefitted adolescents and adults to help them to deal with stress and anxiety in their daily lives. Support to Life Houses also provided many social events and recreational activities that helped improve communication and social cohesion between Syrian refugees and the local community. Psychosocial support: 12,130 refugees in Hatay 11,280 refugees in Şanlıurfa 420 refugees in İstanbul 12

13 I used to be a teacher, now I am a student Usame, age 40, is attending to the Life Skills Program at Support to Life House in Hatay. He actually is a history teacher, who had to migrate from İdlib to Turkey due to the bombings two years ago. The father of four, is now working in seasonal agriculture in Turkey. Usame attends the Turkish and English classes as well as sport activities at Support to Life House. He states that the Turkish classes is making his life easier and improved his relationships with his neighbors. He finds the language classes given by Support to Life as great opportunity. Listening to music, singing, playing sport may just look like simple entertainment; however, it is very important for our physical and mental health. When I am singing, I am able to forget the sad things we experienced as a family. When I am playing football I feel young and powerful. The time I spend here allows me to love life all over again. 13

14 Special Needs Fund The Special Needs Fund (SNF) is a solution of last resort for problems that the refugee community periodically faces, especially when there is a breakdown in the provision of a specific service. The special needs of affected individuals are first identified through a protection screening procedure conducted by Support to Life case management and SNF teams. This procedure consists of home visits, followed by one-to-one information sessions that identify the missing services. Refugees are then facilitated by Support to Life field teams in their access to these services. Samar s greatest worry is her children falling behind in their education due to a severe visual impairment. My husband and I had a consanguineous marriage and because of that our children are visually impaired and they have difficulty seeing and reading. The most important thing them being able to read. Small things can be very important for big dreams. If they had the right treatment and appropriate glasses, they would be more enthusiastic about going to school and continue their education. Support to Life helped Samar and her 3 children get eye examinations and the correct treatment in which prescription glasses were provided under the Special Needs Fund. My children no longer have difficulty in studying for their school work. They are very excited about going to school. It was impossible for them to read without glasses and I used to worry about their future. They are very good students. Now their grades are high. The future of our family depends on them continuing their education. 14

15 Community Impact Community Impact projects aim to enhance social cohesion between Syrian refugees into their host communities and to re-build the refugee community s sense of belongingness. Projects in 2015 included the renovation of a school playground and the provision of a kindergarten room at a Temporary Education Centre serving children of refugee and host families, the renovation of a community recreational area, and the improvement of public transport for the benefit of both community members. In total, over 1,500 individuals were reached through Community Impact projects in Hatay. Refugee children along with local children had a great time at the playground area created by Support to Life in Narlıca Primary School. Support to Life team worked selflessly throughout the summer in order to have the students come to a spotless school on the first day of the new education year. The garden and the play teams were designed with the intention of having the students socialize and play games together. Green space arrangement will increase, reminding the love for nature and awareness on the need to protect the environment. Parents started to meet after school hours and socialize as well. They started to like the school and are more involved with their children s education. Narlıca Primary School Principal Murat Sakman 15

16 Up to 30,000 Yazidis fled to Turkey in the autumn of 2014 due to the spillover of the violence from Syria into Iraq. Support to Life teams have been bringing assistance and protection to over 2,000 Yazidis in Diyarbakır Fidanlık Camp. In 2015, teams reached out to 350 families with psychosocial support activities and relief goods. This Yazidi child, looking outside from his tent with wary eyes, is just one of the refugees who were able to stay warm throughout this winter with the blankets and warm clothes supplied in Fidanlık Camp. 16

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18 Psychosocial Support for Yazidi Refugees The psychosocial support program for Yazidi refugees continued in During the first half of the year, Support to Life provided psychosocial care for Yazidi refugees in Batman. This consisted of recreational activities, skills development and awareness-raising sessions, the latter organized especially for women. The second part of the project took place in Diyarbakır Fidanlık refugee camp, in which Support to Life field teams provided refugees with psychosocial support sessions, including art classes, group activities and a youth club. Additionally, all pre-school aged children attended the kindergarten activities that Support to Life offered in the camp. Psycho-social support in Diyarbakır and Batman 2,350 refugees children, teens and adults 18

19 Case Management for Syrian and Iraqi Refugees In addition to cash assistance and winter support, case management was made available for vulnerable Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Batman and Diyarbakır. In 2015, the most vulnerable refugees received direct assistance from case management teams to address their special needs. Information sessions were provided to out-of-camp refugees in the region. The major referral issues related to registration with authorities, residence permits, marriage and birth certificates, and access to education facilities, health services, and material assistance. Case management 480 refugees in Diyarbakır and Batman 19

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22 CHILD PROTECTION Child Labor In Seasonal Agriculture Over the past several years, Support to Life has been working to combat child labor in seasonal agriculture. Summer camp activities for working children during the hazelnut picking season in Ordu in the Black Sea region included psychosocial support and recreational workshops, as well as field visits. During the 5 week period, Support to Life reached approximately 200 children each day with the majority of the children being regular attendees of the workshops. Support to Life teams worked with families to help them understand the impact of agricultural work on the physical, psychological and cognitive development of children. Similar awareness sessions were also implemented in Şanlıurfa in Southeastern Turkey, where most working families live. As part of an awareness campaign on child labor, Support to Life initiated a public petition and pushed the Parliament to establish an investigative commission on seasonal agricultural work. Support to Life used social media tools to keep the issue on the political agenda. 200 children daily in Ordu Child protection activities: children daily women in Ordu in Şanlıurfa 200 children daily in Şanlıurfa 360 women in Şanlıurfa 200 children daily in Şanlıurfa 22

23 Protection of Refugee Children Since May 2015, a program to identify and target working refugee children has been implemented in Support to Life House in Şanlıurfa, providing psychosocial care, skills development, and referrals to public services primarily for education support. Regular psychosocial support activities included sports, theater and bowling. One-off activities such as festivals, swimming pool sessions, museums visits and camping trips were also organized for working refugee children in Sanliurfa, Southeastern Turkey. Awareness-raising sessions on child labor has also been conducted with families of working children. Child protection in Şanlıurfa 380 refugee children 850 refugee families 23

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26 Civil Society Disaster Platform The Civil Society Disaster Platform is an open platform for NGOs working with disaster-affected and at-risk populations. Promoting the humanitarian standards, the Platform continued to focus on improving collaboration and information sharing as well as advocacy in the field of disaster management and humanitarian aid in Turkey. In addition to preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit to take place in Istanbul in May 2016, Civil Society Disaster Platform members took part in working groups and attended a number of events at the national level. The Platform developed relevant tools and provided training to enhance NGO capacities in disaster response in Turkey. World Humanitarian Summit National NGO Consultation, June

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28 After the attacks on Sinjar in Iraq, tens of thousands of Yazidis have taken refuge in Turkey. 28

29 OUR FINANCES Support to Life carries out institutional audits on a yearly basis that cover all expenses. Our audit reports are open to the public and are available on our website. We have set up our institutional systems in a way that we are accountable for all our actions. 29

30 1,12% Donations 1,86% Overheads 97,03 Project Income Project Income ,53 Donations Overheads Total , , ,57 Income 2,87% Child Protection 6,47% Networking 47,37% Food Security Expenses (Programmes) 19,19% Emergency Protection Emergency Child Protection Food Security Networking , , , , ,41 30,09% Protection Total ,16 92,26% Direct Project Cost 7,74% Indirect Cost Indirect Cost Direct Project Cost Total , , ,64 Efficiency 30

31 Total Project Expenses ,16 PROGRAM DONOR LOCATION TOTAL (EURO) Protection AAR Japan Sanliurfa ,45 Protection Open Society Foundations Sanliurfa ,09 Protection Medecins Sans Frontieres Sanliurfa ,85 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - AA Sanliurfa ,65 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - NIN Batman ,15 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Istanbul ,96 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Istanbul ,02 Protection The UN Refugee Agency Hatay ,41 Protection Medecins Sans Frontieres Sanliurfa ,37 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Istanbul ,90 Protection International Organization for Migration Sanliurfa ,62 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Istanbul ,15 Protection Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - NIN Diyarbakır ,39 Protection Medecins Sans Frontieres Sanliurfa ,86 Protection Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Istanbul ,59 Networking Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Istanbul ,33 Networking Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Istanbul ,17 Networking European Commission Istanbul ,91 Food Security Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - AA Hatay ,64 Food Security Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - AA Sanliurfa ,20 Food Security The UN Refugee Agency Hatay ,68 Food Security GOAL International Hatay ,97 Food Security GOAL International Hatay ,75 Food Security Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - ECHO Diyarbakır ,25 Emergency Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - AA Sanliurfa ,62 Emergency AAR Japan Sanliurfa ,11 Emergency Medecins Sans Frontieres Sanliurfa ,68 Emergency Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe - AA Sanliurfa ,40 Emergency AAR Japan Sanliurfa ,63 Emergency Medecins Sans Frontieres Sanliurfa ,51 Emergency Parcic Sanliurfa ,90 Child Protection Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada Istanbul ,60 Child Protection REWE Group Istanbul / Ordu / Duzce ,78 Child Protection UNICEF Sanliurfa ,59 Child Protection Terre Des Hommes Istanbul 3.067,

32 IF YOU LIKE IT, SHARE IT! We want to remain in touch with you. You can keep updated on project progress by following us on social media, and help us provide aid to a large number of people by publicizing our work SUPPORT US! The increase in funds for Support to Life enhances the organization s impact and guarantees its survival. Each donation, however small, means a great deal to us and to those waiting for your help! Bank Branch Account No. IBAN Garanti Bankası Finansbank Finansbank Finansbank Valikonağı Şb. (183) Maçka Şb. (925) Maçka Şb. (925) Maçka Şb. (925) TR (TL) TR (TL) TR (EURO) TR (USD) 32

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34 2015 REPORT JOIN US 34

35 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sema Genel Karaosmanoğlu President Burcu Kuğu Bolak Vice President Gökhan Erkutlu General Secretary Yunus Türkmen Treasurer Gonca Girit McDaniel Member SUPERVISORY BOARD Aylin Erkutlu Cem Çağlar Besim Çalışkan PHOTO CREDITS COVER PHOTO page 4, 7 page 10, 20-21, 22, 23, 24-25, 27 page 16-17, 18, 19 page 28, 33 page 2-3, 6, 8-9, 11, 12, 13 14, 15, 26, 34 Servet Dilber Kerem Yücel Servet Dilber Kurtuluş Arı Natalia Sancha Support to Life 35

36 Koşuyolu Mah. Cenap Şehabettin Sok. No: 42/ Kadıköy / İSTANBUL info@supporttolife.org p : +90 (216) f : +90 (216)